Prune dipper and spreader.



No. 790.580. y lPAIIENTLED MAY z3, 1995.

C. J. KURTZ. PRUNE DIPPBR AND SPREADBR.

PILIOATION FILED JAN; 11. 1904.

.Q Q -mn WJTNESSES y UNITED STAT-Es.

Patented May 23, 1905). PATENT OFFICE.

CLINTON J. KURTZ, OF SALEM, OREGON.

PRUNE DIFFER AND .SPREADER.

SPECIFICATION ,forming part of Letters Patent No. 790,580, dated May 23,190,5. Application filed January 11,1904. Serial No. 188,661.

.resident of Salem, in the county of Marion and State of Oregon,haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Prune Dippers andSpreaders; and I do hereby declare the follow- .ing to be a full, clear,and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it a ppertains to make .and use the same.V

My invention relates to an improved prune .dipper and spreader, theobject of the invention being toprovide improvements of this characterwhich will be entirely automatic in operation and pass the prunesthrough .baths of cleaning liquidk and feed them uniformly onto trays;and it consists incertain novel features of. constructIonand combma-4tions and arrangements of parts, as will be 1in the liquid in saidtanks. .and 3 the frame 1 supports shafts 5, having .more fullyhereinafter described, and pointed out in vthe claims.

In the accompany'mgdrawmgs, Figure 1 is a v1ew In side elevatlonillustrating my Improvements, and Fig. 2 is a View in longitudinalsection.

'1 represents a frame supporting side by side two tanks 2 and 3, havingtherein perforated semicylindrical platforms 4, submerged Above tanks 2sprocket-wheels 6 thereon, connected by a sprocket-chain 47, and on'said shafts hollow cylinders 8 are secured and are made with perforateddisk-like enlarged heads 9, between which L-shaped perforated blades orpaddles 10 are pivotally supported and hinged at the angle thereof, fora purpose which will hereinafter appear.

At one end of frame 1 a hopper 11 is located and has an inclined bottom12, adapted to direct prunes thereon into the rst tank 3 on thesemicylindrical perforated platform 4. A horizontal drive-'shaft 13 issupported in hopper 11 and is driven by a crank 14 or may be driven fromany desired source of power. A large gear-wheel 15 is secured ondriveshaftf13 at one end and meshes with a smaller gear 16 on ahorizontal shaft 17, having a crank-arm 18 at its opposite end, and thisshaft 13 and shaft 5 above tank 3 are provided with pulleys 13,connected by a crossed belt 13".v

At the discharge end of the frame an inclined swinging frame 19 issupported on pivi oted links 20, connected with main frame 1, andsupports an inclined feed-chute 21, having its receiving end locatedbeneath end of the platform 4 in tank 2, so as to receive the prunestherefrom. This pivoted frame`19 is also constructed to support a tray19, abutting against the end of feed-chute 21 to receive the `prunestherefrom and on which they are conveyedl to a suitable drier or otherapparatus.

Bell-crank levers 22 are mounted on frame 1 andconnected with the frame19. A rod or rods 23 connect the bell-crank levers, and a pitman 23dconnects the rod 23 with crankarm 18. An extension 23e of said pitman isconnected with a pivoted link 23'. The link 23 is attached to a pivotedbar 23h, connected by a linkf23c with the bottom of the hopper, so thatwhen shaft 13 is turned the bottom 12 of hopper 11,will be shaken touniformly feed the prunes into the tank 3, and the frame 19 will beshakento compel the prunes to be fed yin a single thickness and fill thetray com pletelyLyet prevent piling thereof.

To prevent ydisplacement of the tray on frame 19, a vertical movable bar24', having sharp teeth 25, is provided and normally pressed upward by aspring 26 to force the vteeth 25Kinto the bottom of the tray and hold iton the frame 19. To release the teeth from Athe tray, afoot-lever27 ispivoted to frame l and connected by a link 28 with the bar 24,

so that by exerting adownward pressure onV ing therethrough. Shaft 13 isturned to rel volve shafts 5 and cylinders 8, carried thereby, andprunes are fed into tank 3 on perforated platform 4, and the prunes areconveyed through the bath by means of paddles ICO or Wings 10. As willbe seen, when these Wings or paddles are passing through the tank theywill be prevented from pivotal movement in one direction by reason ofthe shorter bent or ianged portions engaging cylinder 8 and the longermember engaging platform 4 and will therefore force the prunes along theplatform and ofI1 the same into tank 2, Where the next series of paddlesor blades will carry them through the rinsing-water onto feedingchute21, which latter being shaken by bellcrank levers 22 and rods willuniformly feed the cleansed prunes onto the tray on frame 19.

A great many changes might be made in the general form and arrangementof the several parts described without departing from my invention, andhence I would have it understood that I do not restrict myself to theprecise details set forth, but consider myself at liberty to make suchslight changes and alterations as fairly fall within the spirit andscope of my invention.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The 'combination with a curved tank, of a perforated platformdepending into said tank so as to be submerged in the liquid therein, arotary cylinder above the platform and having disk-like enlarged ends,paddles or blades of general L shape in cross-section hinged at theirangles in the disk-like ends of .i the cylinder, stops for said paddlesor blades,

said paddles or blades 'adapted when passing through the tank to haveone edge bearing against the cylinder and the other edge against theplatform holding it in shoveling position.

2. The combination with two tanks located side by side, of rotaryhorizontal cylinders above the tanks, enlarged perforated disk-like endson the cylinders, paddles or blades hinged to the disk-like ends of thecylinder, semieylindrical perforated platforms in the tanks againstwhich the paddles or blades bear to force material therethrough, ahopper adapted to direct material onto the platform in one tank, aninclined feeding-chute at the side of the other tank onto which thematerial after being Washed is directed, and means for shaking saidfeed-'chute and the bottom of the hopper to compel uniform delivery anduniform feed.

3. The combination with a frame, of two tanks supported side by side insaid frame, horizontal shafts supported by the frame above the tanks,curved perforated platforms in said tanks, cylinders secured on theshafts above the tanks, blades or paddles connected with said cylinderand adapted to be moved along the platforms to convey material acrossthe platforms and through the liquid in said tanks, an inclineddelivery-chute onto which material from these tanks is delivered, atraysupport, means for securing a tray on the support, and means forshaking said feed-chute and tray-support to compel a uniform singlelayerdelivery of the material onto the trays.

4. In a prune dipper and spreader, the combination with a frame, of twotanks supported side by side in said frame, shafts supported by theframe above the tanks, cylinders secured on said shafts, curvedperforated platforms in said tanks onto which the prunes are fed, bladesor paddles carried by the cylinder and adapted to force the prunesacross the platforms and through the liquid therein, a shakingfeed-chute onto which the prunes are dclivered from the last tank, and ashaking traysupport adapted to hold a tray at the delivery end of saidfeed-chute.

5. In a prune dipper and spreader, the combination with a frame, of twotanks supported side by side in said frame, curved perforated platformssuspended in said tanks, shafts slipported by said frame above thetanks, cylinders secured on said shafts, enlarged disk-like ends securedon said cylinder, blades or paddles of general L shape in cross-sectionhinged at their angle in the disk-like ends, stops for said blades, andthe latter adapted when moved through the tanks to have one edge bearagainst the cylinder and the other against the platform.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence oftwo subscribing Witnesses.

CLINTON J. KURTZ. Witnesses:

A. L. WEST, A. O. GoNDrr.

